Midland man arrested, charged with manslaughter for death of bicyclist

Editors note: The video above was aired on September 12

MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- On Thursday, September 12, a bicyclist attempting to cross Carter Avenue was hit and killed. Now, a Midland man is in custody for alleged manslaughter after investigations discovered the driver, Matthew Ray Dominguez, had been recklessly driving that morning before hitting and killing the unnamed pedestrian.

According to MPD, at 6:36 a.m. on Thursday, September 12, officers responded to an accident in south-central Midland. The victim, who has not yet been identified, was attempting to cross Carter Avenue when he was struck by 31-year-old Matthew Ray Dominguez, who was driving a white company Chevrolet 2500 pickup truck.

Police reported that upon arrival, Dominguez’s truck had several damages to the front right of his vehicle, including a missing headlight, a mirror folded in, and blood stains on the back right passenger door.

Officers at the scene reported that Dominguez told police he was traveling 35mph on the 1400 Block of Carter Avenue to get to Rankin Highway for work because Midkiff Avenue was under construction.

According to the police, a witness later called MPD and told officers she had security footage of the crash. The video, according to officials, showed the bicyclist stopping for a vehicle, then crossing before a white truck- driven by Dominguez, hit the pedestrian and continued to travel east on Carter Avenue, before arriving back at the intersection.

Investigators then spoke with Dominguez’s former employer, who advised police that the vehicle’s GPS showed hard braking had been applied to the truck and that he had been going 77mph that morning.

The GPS data, later obtained by police, showed that Dominguez had reached a maximum speed of 95 mph in a 45mph zone two times that same morning and that around 6:32 AM, on Carter Avenue, Dominguez had accelerated to a speed of 79.53 mph right before hard braking. When the vehicle arrived on the east side of Johnston Street after braking, the GPS tracked the speed at 59mph.

Based on the investigations and GPS data, police believed that Dominguez had allegedly sped up to 98mph, driving recklessly throughout the city of Midland on Thursday morning, September 12th, before hitting and killing a pedestrian.

On Tuesday, September 17, 31-year-old Matthew Ray Dominguez was arrested and booked into Midland County Jail with a $250,000 bond for manslaughter, a second-degree felony.

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